Well, I don't know WHAT my two year old has. First, she's up to date on her vaccinations, so she shouldn't have whooping cough. My oldest child actually had it when she was six months old, before she was vaccinated, and it was very scary.
For the last two days, my toddler has had this very strange cough that is not "followed" by a whoop, but the entire thing sounds very whoopy. It real sounds more like a seal barking than a cough...very deep and full of air, not a typical throat cough or a congested chesty cough. I don't know what to think!
I have a call in to her ped, but they could take several hours to get back to me and in the meantime I'm curious if you have any ideas. She says she has "ickies" and points to her throat, seems to be a bit warm but definitely not a high fever (won't ever let me take it, but I'm good at the hand judge), and activity level and appetite are normal.
Thanks, mamas!
Thanks, mamas. I forgot all about croup, but I guess that is what it sounds like. It's been about five years since my oldest was a toddler, so I've forgotten a lot of these things!
Can anyone recommend a good and inexpensive cool mist humidifier? I just finished Christmas shopping and I'm fairly short on cash.
**UPDATE** Well, her doctor finally called back at 3 and I took her in. She said it might be croup, gave her a double shot (both legs, poor thing) of dextro-something or other...(she won't take oral meds, so we always have to do shots), refilled a neb scrip for pulmicort (which she also won't do, but we'll see...maybe I'll try to sneak it while she's sleeping, but the darn machine is so loud), and told me to bring her back in a week if she doesn't get better.
Thank you all again so much for your suggestions and advice!
People do get pertussis even though they are vaccinated - no vaccine is 100% effective.
Croup also produces a barking cough and often comes with a sore throat.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/croup.html
Hope she feels better soon!
if it sounds barky, then it's most likely croup. My son has had this many times before and it's really scary sounding! One thing that helped him, if he was coughing a lot and having a hard time breathing, I would take him outside. The cool air at night would help him a lot.
BTW, just because they are vaccinated for whopping cough, does not mean that they won't get it. A lot of the kids who have had whopping cough are the ones who are vaccinated, not the ones who aren't.
I hope she feels betters soon!
Croup! If she seems to have trouble breathing, or her stomach sucks in when she breathes at night, then she might need to see the doctor for a round of steroids. If it's just the cough and she's breathing ok then take her out into the night air at night (bundled up, of course). Breathing the cold night air does the thing as a cool mist humidifier.
It could still be whooping cough. My vaccinated 9 yo daughter was diagnosed with it in August and so was my vaccinated 4 yo niece and my 10 year old nephew. There is an outbreak of it in several states. The CDC called me to get info and the only reported cases are ironically in vaccinated kids. Go figure.
(FYI... My daughter is not due for her booster shot until age 11).
During this whooping cough outbreak, just as many were vaccinated. Her vaccine does not mean she doesn't have it.
The last two times my four year old has had strep, it started with a barking cough like what you're describing. It's extremely disturbing and hurts just hearing it. It may not be that, but if her throat is sore and she has a fever, it's a possibility.
I haven't read any of the Previous replies, but your statement about being vaccinated concerns me. Whooping cough has 1 of the highest rates of vax failure. Almost 1/2 of the cases have been recorded to have been vax'd. It isnot a recommended vax by the WHO, it just gives you the illusion of safety. Another point is that our allopathic dr's believe it can be cured with antibiotics and big pharma, when in reality, there have been major accomplishments with high dosing of IV vitamin C, and antibx/big pharma actually making the sickness worse.
In my family, we tend to have very croupy sounding coughs and you described it perfectly when you compared it to a seal's bark. My mother, myself, and my daughter have that cough and my son has been known to have it when sick as well. In mine and my daughter's case, we have allergies and asthma and all three of us are prone to bronchitis. Two years ago, my daughter had it so bad they thought it was pnemonia and treated as such even though it wasn't.
My little one had a cough like that last week and it turned out to be allergies and nothing more.
My son just got over exactly what you described. No whoop, but a very dry seal cough. It was simply a virus, and we made sure to keep his humidifier with vicks going in his room all night. He got over it in about 4 days.
** Yes, our humidifier is wonderful and we got it at Target for a good price ($30?). We like the option of adding Vicks liquid to a small section and that goes into the air as well, so I would look for that. It really seemed to help. Good luck mama!
Croup. The seal bark generally indicates that. My daughter had it a month or so ago. She had to take steroids and have nebulizer treatments.
I would say croup, as well. I did want to add, though, that the actual statistics are 87% of those who come down with whooping cough are FULLY vaccinated. So definitely not something you can ever be clear of, unfortunately. :( The vaccines against it simply do not work. Many studies are finding they are actually totally ineffective as soon as a year after receiving the whole series.
My son had strep a few weeks ago alon with a chest cold and his cough sounded like that. The dr said it was from his throat being swollen from strep and coughing so much.
Barking seal - croup.
Strep and Bronchitis are two. My son and I get allergy induced bronchitis frequently, and that barking cough is always the beginning and the end of it. In fact, they wanted me to go in for a chest x-ray because the dry barking cough just wouldn't go away. It's also not always a productive cough, last time the cough was very dry. I finally tamed it with liberal applications of Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat tea, Ricola throat drops and Horehound Candy drops.
A good way to take it for a better judge is an ear thermometer. Not as accurate as an oral one, but less pushy than others. Show her on your ear, then hers. You need an accurate reading, because sometimes a fever doesn't always show up with touch. My son got 'cool to the touch in the obvious spots' fevers, but he was very feverish to a thermometer reading.
Warm honey lemon tea, warm Throat Coat tea(safe for toddlers), warm apple juice. Warm is soothing on the throat. My Mother did this for me when I was a child, and I continue on with my son. Family doc always jokes with me and asks me if I talked to "Dr. Mom" first, as her advice usually works without me needing to visit the doctor's office. If it doesn't calm down, or she can't rest, take her in.
Hope she feels better.
If you have a small bathroom she can sit in there with you while the shower runs and it gets steamy.
Check out thrift stores every now and then you find vaporizers at thrift stores. If I am looking for that type of thing I check out St Vinnie's, around here it's the best chance to find at home medical type supplies.
Or contact your local Red Cross or Lions Club, I know the Lions Club around here takes supplies and equipment for elderly people who can not afford new. I gave them my Mom's lift chair, bath chair, walker ect. Never know it's worth a call. Even if you only get to borrow it.
in my experience, bronchitis, pneumonia or asthma....Asthma in and of itself doesn't come w/ a temp but if she has a virus, including the flu (but that's usually a high fever) it can trigger an asthmatic episode...my little man gets "the cough"(aka asthma) from viruses(including the flu) and it's pretty barky...good luck...hope she feels better
A seal barking. That sounds like croup to me. It restricts the airways so I would take your child to the Dr. ASAP. My daughter had this at just a few months old. She had to go to the emergency room and they had to give her a shot and medicine to reopen her airways. When they are really little babies its very scary. As they get older it's not as bad on them.
When my kids have Croup they are woken up in the middle from coughing so hard, which makes them cry and it makes it worse. I take them in the bathroom room and we sit there while the shower runs. The steam really helps and it takes 5-10 minutes. They're able to sleep the rest of the night. The humidifier has never worked for us. I've been doing this for the last 4 winters. I also don't let them run for the first day and that seems to help. The less active they are, the better the cough is during the day.
